03/02/2020 Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 US 514 - Supreme Court 2001 - Google Scholar 532 U.S. 514 (2001) BARTNICKI et al. v. VOPPER, aka WILLIAMS, et al. No. 99-1687. United States Supreme Court. Argued December 5, 2000. Decided May 21, 2001.[*] CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT 516 *516 *516 Stevens, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Breyer, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which O'Connor, J., joined, post, p. 535. Rehnquist, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Scalia and Thomas, JJ., joined, post, p. 541. Jeremiah A. Collins argued the cause for petitioners in No. 99-1687. With him on the briefs were Raymond P. Wendolowski and Scott C. Gartley. 517 Solicitor General Waxman argued the cause for the United States in No. 99-1728. With him on the briefs were *517 Assistant Attorney General Ogden, Deputy Solicitor General Dreeben, Jeffrey A. Lamken, and Douglas N. Letter. Lee Levine argued the cause for respondents Vopper et al. With him on the brief was Jay Ward Brown. Thomas C. Goldstein argued the cause for respondent Yokum. With him on the brief were Erik S. Jaffe and Frank J. Aritz.[*] Justice Stevens, delivered the opinion of the Court. These cases raise an important question concerning what degree of protection, if any, the First Amendment provides to speech that discloses the contents of an illegally intercepted communication. That question is both novel and narrow. Despite the fact that federal law has prohibited such disclosures since 1934,[1] this is the first time that we have confronted such an issue. The suit at hand involves the repeated intentional disclosure of an illegally intercepted cellular telephone conversation about a public issue. The persons who made the disclosures did not participate in the interception, but they did know— 518 or at least had reason to know—that the interception *518 was unlawful. Accordingly, these cases present a conflict between interests of the highest order—on the one hand, the interest in the full and free dissemination of information concerning public issues, and, on the other hand, the interest in individual privacy and, more specifically, in fostering private speech. The Framers of the First Amendment surely did not foresee the advances in science that produced the conversation, the interception, or the conflict that gave rise to this action. It is therefore not surprising that Circuit judges, as well as the Members of this Court, have come to differing conclusions about the First Amendment's application to this issue. Nevertheless, having considered the interests at stake, we are firmly convinced that the disclosures made by respondents in this suit are protected by the First Amendment. I During 1992 and most of 1993, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, a union representing the teachers at the Wyoming Valley West High School, engaged in collectivebargaining negotiations with the school board. Petitioner Kane, then the president of the local union, testified that the negotiations were "`contentious' " and received "a lot of media attention." App. 79, 92. In May 1993, petitioner Bartnicki, who was acting as the union's "chief negotiator," used the cellular phone in her car to call Kane and engage in a lengthy conversation about the status of the negotiations. An unidentified person intercepted and recorded that call. 519 In their conversation, Kane and Bartnicki discussed the timing of a proposed strike, id., at 41-45, difficulties created by public comment on the negotiations, id., at 46, and the need for a dramatic response to the board's intransigence. At one point, Kane said: "`If they're not gonna move for three percent, we're gonna have to go to their, their *519 homes . . . . To blow off their front porches, we'll have to do some work on some of those guys. (PAUSES). Really, uh, really and truthfully because this is, you know, this is bad news. (UNDECIPHERABLE).' " Ibid. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=bartnicki&hl=en&as_sdt=2006&case=2171346211086974391&scilh=0 1/15